Forgotten
by String of Pearly
Summary: He was all she had to hang onto. The only one. Even when all of the others seemed to leave her to her own little world, giving her the apparent-- and unknown to HER-- title of “insane,” he didn’t leave.


**I... don't exactly know what this is. xD Just a random little thought I had this morning that I tried putting on paper. Well, anyway, please feel free to review, give CC, and enjoy~ 8D**

_. Forgotten ._

He was all she had to hang onto. The only one. Even when all of the others seemed to leave her to her own little world, giving her the apparent (and unknown to _her)_ title of "insane," he didn't leave.

He helped her ignore the whispers surrounding her. The strange gazes she would receive. It was as if each and every one of them had something to say to her, but were held back. But Stormclaw... He was always beside her, never straying from her. Always murmuring soothing, soft little words.

_I love you._

_ I'll never leave you._

_ I'm right here._

And she would smile and whisper, "I love you, too." Once, she even dared to ask her mate _why_ the Clan had began to shift away. _Why_ no one looked at her as a _normal_ she-cat anymore.

"Do they know something?" she'd ask quietly in a cracked, worried tone. "Is there something wrong with me? W-What about my _kit?"_ She _always_ asked him about her kit. _Their_ kit. And then always, without fail, she'd then proceed to tenderly lick her swollen belly, her ears flattened in concern.

"Our kit will be fine," he would assure her, licking her between the ears. "He'll be fine."

"Or she," she would suggest lightly, smiling a bit. Stormclaw would smile back and press his muzzle to hers.

"Or she."

But she couldn't help but worry. Was it some sort of rumor, some sort of dreaded _prophecy_ going around? The very thought, to put it simply, _scared_ her.

But no, that... That wasn't it.

As she was passing by a small group of gossiping apprentices one day, she heard bits and pieces of their hushed conversation.

"...Spottedleaf said that she just needs some time, right?"

"It's been almost a half-moon. Does she even _know_ that Stormclaw isn't--"

"Isn't what?" the queen had asked, now frozen in her tracks as she stared at the young cats with curiosity, and what-- very frankly-- was fear. And the apprentices stiffened, quickly telling her not to worry about it, that they were just _gossiping._ They didn't continue their conversation until they were sure that she was out of earshot.

She was getting worried. Very worried. No longer would Stormclaw's seductive whispers of "I love you" calm her. Something was wrong. _Very wrong._

A few days passed. She had been talking with her mate at the edge of the camp's clearing when the pretty little medicine cat walked up to her. Her amber eyes were dim, with what-- sorrow? Sympathy? The queen couldn't tell, but her heart skipped a beat when she realized that this cat had come to tell her something. Something important.

"He's dead," the medicine cat whispered. "Stormclaw's... dead."

The ginger queen stared.

And waited.

Was that it? What kind of stupid, ridiculous...?

"What are you talking about?" she asked, even allowing a tiny chuckle. "He's right beside me."

Spottedleaf let out a tired sigh and closed her eyes. "He was killed by a badger a half-moon ago. We told you."

Green eyes blinked and turned to see if her mate was really there-- of course, she knew he _would_ be. Stormclaw's dead... What kind of sick joke _was_ this? But still, to put herself completely at ease, she settled her gaze back on the tom. He sat there, looking at her silently; his blue eyes were, for once, almost _cold._ But the queen didn't notice. And had she, she probably wouldn't have thought about it much. She just wasn't that kind of cat.

"Will you quit fooling around?" she snapped back at Spottedleaf, growing quite annoyed. "It's not funny. We _thought_ he was dead, but he survived. Don't you remember!? _He's alive!"_

"Russettail," the medicine cat tried again, "come with me." And so the tortoiseshell led her away from camp, through the woods. It was Newleaf, and yet the wind was eerily still and cold. But she would follow. She would watch as Spottedleaf realized she was wrong, that Stormclaw was very much alive. And she would have the satisfaction of smirking lightly, maybe even rubbing it in her face a bit. Yes, the pretty, envied little medicine cat of ThunderClan-- Russettail would have liked to point out a flaw in her logic _very_ much.

So then why was she being so confident? Why did she feel as if Spottedleaf was the mother, and she herself was some kit, being taught some unavoidable fact of life? She peered over at her mate, who was soundlessly walking beside her.

The two she-cats stopped in a clearing. And from the clumps of white flowers scattered about, the queen knew where they were and felt her blood turn to ice.

The burial grounds.

She opened her mouth, but no words came out. All she could do was stand still and watch as the medicine cat slowly made her way to a patch of earth beside a maple tree. It was clear from the color of the dirt that this grave had been made relatively recently. Spottedleaf quietly plucked a flower-- a tiny violet-- and placed it gently down before looking sadly up at Russettail.

"This is where we buried him," she said quietly. She stepped forward, about to place her tail on the queen's shoulder for comfort, but the latter wouldn't allow it. Russettail stumbled backwards, her own eyes wide with confusion.

"You're lying," she whispered. "That's not his grave." The other cat sighed and sat down, curling her tail around her paws before speaking again.

"All this time you that you thought he was with you, he hasn't been. You were devastated when we told you he was dying, so you told yourself-- _forced_ yourself-- to believe that he survived. But he... He didn't. He's gone. You've only been imagining him beside you." The queen didn't speak for a moment; she couldn't have said anything even if she'd wanted to.

"So you think I'm crazy?" she finally managed to croaked. "You think I'm _insane?"_

"No," the tortoiseshell reassured quickly. "I just think you need to realize that Stormclaw's with StarClan now. Russettail, take another look around."

It was when she glanced about and saw that Stormclaw was gone that Russettail let out a loud, desperate wail of grief.

Two nights later, the ginger queen was gone. She'd vanished completely, leaving no trace behind. Bluestar sent out several search parties, but each and every one of them came back with no good news. Yes, she was gone-- just like that. With her unborn kit, at that.

Come several months, no one would even remember the names of Stormclaw and Russettail. They'd be lost forever.

Overlooked.

Forgotten.


End file.
